


Sick Day

by shslrenao (shslnaegiri)



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-18
Updated: 2014-02-18
Packaged: 2018-01-12 22:46:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1203334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shslnaegiri/pseuds/shslrenao
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoba sleeps in a little too late and Ren gets worried. Sicktimes ensue, and Ren tries to make chicken soup.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sick Day

**Author's Note:**

> babby's first fanfic and by extension babby's first renao.......  
> i had this idea rolling around my head for a while now and since i live for fluffy cute renao....... (*´꒳`*)
> 
> extensively self-beta'd (& reviewed by a couple friends) so gomen for any mistakes ♥

“Aoba...?”

 

A few gentle raps on the door. No response.

 

“Aoba, are you awake?”

 

Ren didn't like to intrude on Aoba's morning rituals, especially on days that he knew he had to work. But by now he'd had his schedule better committed to memory than even Aoba himself, or so he thought, so it worried him when he didn't hear his shuffling about upstairs or see him make his usual appearance downstairs at the normal time that morning.

 

“Aoba... You're going to be late.” Worry evident in his voice, he spoke slightly louder than before, and after a pause, knocked one last time before finally deciding to enter.

 

The door was unlocked, as he expected; Aoba usually kept it that way in case Ren was having trouble sleeping or had a particularly bad dream, or had just gotten lonely. Both of them would have preferred sleeping together in his room all the time, but with the size of Aoba's bed, that didn't always work out too well. It was too cramped and one or both of them would usually end up falling off during the night, or someone would end up squished against the wall. It wasn't that bad for cuddling, but they had concluded that beds made for only one person are hard to sleep in comfortably with two.

 

He wasn't too bothered by it, though; the couch suited him just fine, despite Aoba's worried protests. He'd have been more than happy to sleep on the floor had Aoba deemed it appropriate, but the idea had been shot down the moment the words left his mouth. Neither of them had the courage yet to talk to Tae about buying a bigger bed. The situation was probably already weird enough, he thought, without the added implications of them sleeping together.

 

Once he entered the room, he wasn't at all surprised to find Aoba still curled up in his bed, mouth slightly agape, drooling a little. He could feel his own face creasing in concern as he approached and stopped, lightly tapping him on the shoulder, which turned into gentle nudging.

 

“Mmn...”

 

The blue haired man rolled away from his touch, making suitably disgruntled noises. Did he realize at all what time it was?

 

“Aoba... You need to wake up. It's seven minutes past your usual get-up time. You're going to be late if you keep sleeping.”

 

That seemed to do the trick. Once his sleep-addled mind processed Ren's words, Aoba was pulling himself up and rubbing at his eyes, looking pretty grumpy and mumbling something about 'his own personal alarm clock' while he wiped the drool off his chin.

 

“Not even a few more minutes...”

 

“I'm sorry, Aoba. I don't want you to be late.”

 

“No... It's fine. Thank you, Ren.”

 

He could've sworn he'd heard a sniffle as he got up and started to head for the door. In fact, he was certain he did. He'd seen Aoba get sick before on several occasions when he was an AllMate, so he definitely knew the signs. Hesitantly, he reached forward and grabbed his wrist.

 

“Aoba... Are you feeling alright?”

 

“Huh?”

 

He shot him a quizzical look, eyes hazy and tainted a bit by slight fatigue. It took a moment for him to fully comprehend the question and assess his condition.

 

“My throat's a bit sore, and I feel a little stuffy, but I think I'm fine.”

 

That was an understatement for sure. Skeptically, he opened his mouth -

 

“... Don't give me that look. I'm fine, really.”

 

“... If you insist.”

 

Still, he couldn't help but worry. If Aoba really was sick, then he shouldn't be leaving the house at all. That much he knew. All the previous times he'd seen him get sick, Tae had always shooed him back up to his room and made him stay in bed. But Tae was out this morning, so he would have to do the persuading himself.

 

Determined, he sat himself on his bed and waited for him to return from the shower.

 

Passing time was always excruciatingly difficult for him. As an AllMate, he could curl up and enter sleep mode if he knew extensive waiting was ahead, but with a human body, things were a little different. Time seemed to pass slower than usual, and he found himself checking the time on his coil very frequently, a habit he had developed ever since Aoba had gotten it for him. Idly, he noted that his shower time was off, too. Maybe he had fallen down? He hoped that he hadn't hurt himself. He was just about to go down and check when the door swung open again, and Aoba stumbled back in with dripping hair, rosy cheeks, and a towel slung around his waist. His eyes locked on him, obviously confused. He usually waited downstairs for him.

 

“Ren...? What's up?”

 

A bit flustered, he shifted his gaze away from the naked man out of modesty. “I was waiting for you to return.”

 

“Ah... Well, I need to get dressed.” He attempted to hint, but Ren was determined not to move.

 

“That's fine.”

 

“I wasn't intending on having an audience...”

 

“I won't look.”

 

Stealing a glance, he managed to catch him puff his cheeks out a bit, seemingly embarrassed. Personally, he sees nothing to be embarrassed about regarding lack of clothing between them, but he recognizes that Aoba still isn't 100% comfortable with the concept yet, outside of bedroom antics. So he politely turns himself away while he pulls out what he needs and haphazardly tries to dress himself.

 

A few thumps and frustrated noises later, he sneaks another peek... And finds him struggling to twist his shirt around after putting it on partially backwards.

 

He's met with a grumpy face. “Hey, you said you wouldn't look!”

 

“... Sorry. Are you almost done?”

 

“Yeah, yeah. One second.”

 

Rustling, some clicking. “Done.”

 

He turns his complete attention back to him at that, running his gaze up and down his body. He's running the towel carefully over his hair now. A bit sluggishly, Ren notes.

 

“What?” He asks, a bit impatiently.  
  


“... Nothing. How do you feel?”

 

“Better.”

 

“Is that so...”

 

With a click of his tongue, he gets up and approaches him, delicately putting a hand over his forehead. Warm... And probably not from the shower. This definitely isn't a good sign.

 

“Aoba, your head is burning up. Are you sure you're alright?”

 

There's that pout. “I'm fine.”

 

“Aoba... I'm worried. You shouldn't go to work if you're sick.”

 

“I'm not that sick.”

 

“But you're still not feeling your best.”

 

He cups his hands around his face, giving him the most earnest, concerned look he can manage. Aoba averts his eyes and sniffles weakly. “You know I always feel bad about calling in.”

 

“I'm sure Haga-san will understand. Your health is much more important.”

 

“Mm...”

 

“Aoba...”

 

He glances back up at him, facial expression growing softer, and finally caves. “Fine, I'll stay.”

 

Ducking out of Ren's hold, he shuffles back over to his bed. “M'goin' back to sleep. Already took some stuff a bit ago. Can you call in for me?”

 

He feels his lips twitch up into a smile. “... Very well. Have a nice nap, Aoba.”

 

☆★☆

 

He decides to stay in the room while his lover sleeps, making himself comfortable against the bed. He's still not used to navigating on his coil. Fondly, he recalls how easy it would have been if he still had his old body, but that just makes learning all the more exciting. Learning was his primary goal, after all. And while he was aware of the symptoms of most common illnesses, he hadn't the slightest clue how to fix them, since it was never a task he'd been assigned. A few quick searches told him that rest and plenty of fluids ought to take care of it just fine, but a couple mentioned common remedies like soup as well.

 

He'd never really tried cooking before. It was one of those tasks that was always on his to-do list, but somehow he never got the opportunity to try it for himself. If Tae wasn't cooking, Aoba always swooped right in and did it himself, and that was fine. He was still learning what tasted good and what didn't, but as far as he was concerned, anything he was given was perfect as it was. He'd taken to watching them whenever they cooked, so he figured he could manage it on his own. With a good recipe, he could probably make just about anything.

 

Confident in himself now, he quietly snuck down to the kitchen.

 

☆★☆

 

Things seemed to be going well at first. All of the vegetables described in the recipe were present, but there was just one problem... Where was he going to get a chicken? He searched all over the kitchen, but couldn't find anything resembling any sort of chicken he knew. Frustrated, he decided to busy himself with cutting up the carrots and other veggies while he worked out a plan of action. He didn't have a lot of pocket change, just stuff for emergencies, really. Was there even a store close enough that sold chicken?

 

All his thoughts were cut short when the door opened and Tae walked in.

 

“What do you think you're doing?”

 

He jumped, dropping the knife and avoiding its fall with all of his might. “... Ah. Tae-san. Hello.” He greeted, turning to look at her. “I didn't expect you to be back so early.”

 

“Hmph. Things went more smoothly than expected. That doesn't answer my question, though.”

 

Sheepishly, he dropped his gaze to his feet as she approached and had a look at the ingredients he had laid out. “I wanted to make Aoba something. He's... ill. I did some research, and discovered that chicken soup was recommended online as an at-home remedy. However, I can not seem to find the chicken.”

 

“Sick, huh.” She mused, taking a moment to think.

 

Ren sighed, admitting defeat. “Truthfully... Tae-san, I could use your assistance. I don't know what to do.”

 

Another sigh, this time from her. “Why don't you let me handle the cooking, and you can take the product up to him when it's done?”

  
Relieved, he smiled. “That would be wonderful. May I watch?”

 

“Mm... Why not. Come here, and pay close attention. I'm not going to repeat myself or start over. For starters, the chicken's right here. You just weren't looking hard enough.”

 

☆★☆

 

“Thank you, Tae-san. It smells wonderful; I'm sure he'll appreciate it.” Ren commented, habitually bringing his nose close to the finished soup.

 

“Tch. It's nothing. Get your nose out of there before you inhale it.”

 

“Ah... Sorry.”

 

The bowl was a bit too hot for him to carry, due to the temperature of its contents, so he held it up with a towel while he made deliberate, careful steps and toted the soup upstairs. The last thing he wanted was to stumble and feed it to the floor before Aoba had even gotten a taste. Aoba was still asleep when he walked in, but a few quick taps managed to rouse him from his nap.

 

“Nngh... Don't wanna get up.”

 

“You don't have to. But it might be best to sit up. I have something for you.”

 

“What is it?” He mumbled, still groggy. Nevertheless, he sat up, albeit a bit begrudgingly.

 

“Chicken soup. Here.” 

 

He passed it on once he was ready for it, and anxiously waited for his reaction.

 

“Isn't it a bit early for soup?”

 

“Is it? I wasn't aware...” He trailed off, attempting not to sound too disheartened, but didn't have very much success.

 

“Well... Whatever. I'll bet it's delicious anyway. Thank you, Ren.”

 

That put his fluttering heart considerably at ease, and he could feel his lips tugging upwards at the sight of Aoba smiling at him. “... The pleasure is mine.”

 

They sat in silence for a while while Aoba ate, and Ren watched curiously.

 

“Say... Did you make this all by yourself?”

 

“No. I was going to, but I had some help from Tae-san.”

 

“That explains it...”

 

“What?”  


 

“There's no way you'd be able to cook something this good on your first shot!”

 

“... Aoba. I'm hurt.”

 

 

 

 

It was no surprise to anyone that Ren got sick soon afterward.


End file.
